Eddie Murphy and Jonah Hill are two of the most popular comedic actors of their respective generations, even if one of them is in the midst of a comeback as the other takes a step back from the limelight. The good news for fans is that the unlikely duo have signed on to co-star in a new Netflix comedy, which is set to be directed by Kenya Barris.
Barris is best knows as the creator of Black-ish, but he was one of the credited writers on Murphy’s recent smash hit streaming sequel Coming 2 America, where he appears to have struck up a working relationship with the resurgent star. Having won rave reviews for headlining Netflix’s Dolemite Is My Name, the untitled project is the second he’s got in the works for the streamer, with Beverly Hills Cop 4 recently taking a major step forward to finally entering production.
Hill co-wrote the screenplay with Barris, and the two-time Academy Award nominee looks to be making a full-blown return to the genre that first shot him to fame almost fifteen years ago thanks to Superbad. This year’s star-studded Don’t Look Up, also a Netflix original, marks his first live-action outing in a straightforward comic vehicle since 2014’s 22 Jump Street, and teaming him up with Eddie Murphy is a massively exciting prospect.
The plot is being kept under wraps for now, but is said to be “an incisive examination of modern love and family dynamics and how clashing cultures, societal expectations and generational differences shape and affect relationships”. That hardly sounds like a barrel of laughs on paper, but Murphy and Hill have proven themselves equally adept at both humor and drama, so this is definitely one to keep an eye on.
Published: Aug 27, 2021 12:45 pm